Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Azerbaijani counterpart, President Ilham Aliyev, on Monday for a two-day visit to strengthen Moscow’s trade routes and secure relations in the South Caucasus. At a meeting in Baku, business ties were at the top of the agenda, as Aliyev announced $120 million in investments in cargo transportation between the two nations. This initiative would facilitate the transportation of more than 15 million tons of cargo every year, thus reflecting the growing economic cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan. Last year, their trade turnover exceeded $4 billion. Leaders of both countries have expressed their confidence about further growth in their economic cooperation.
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For Putin, tightening ties with Azerbaijan is an imperative as he works through alternative ways to global markets because of the sanctions against Russia in the wake of its war in Ukraine. According to independent political analyst Zardusht Alizade, what was very vital to Russia was the role of Azerbaijan as a transit state that opens access to markets—above all, the ports in the Indian Ocean, along with Iran.
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Moscow’s support is also very important to Azerbaijan in the high-standing tensions with its neighbor Armenia. Relations have deteriorated since September 2023, when Azerbaijan quickly ramped up a military offensive to take control of Karabakh, ending three decades of ethnic Armenian separatist rule. Armenia accused Moscow’s peacekeepers of not preventing the assault, which Moscow vehemently denied. Still, however, Azerbaijan hopes that Russia will make a difference by pressing on Armenia the need to normalize relations, as Alizade puts it: Russia can speed up the resolution of Armenian-Azerbaijani tensions.
